


Love On The Line

by canterofmysinnings



Series: Barlliams Songfic Challenge 2018-2020+ [26]
Category: Take That (Band)
Genre: Apology/making up, Blind Date, Ex-Girlfriend, Flirting, Fluff to angst with happy ending, Forgiving, High Standards, M/M, Non-Take That AU, Online Dating, Small Conflict, TW stalking mention, Texting, eHarmony mention, myspace - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:08:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29262507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canterofmysinnings/pseuds/canterofmysinnings
Summary: Gary's long-time friend, Betty, sets up Gary on a blind date at a local jazz café. Here, he meets Robbie for the first time.
Relationships: Gary Barlow/Robbie Williams
Series: Barlliams Songfic Challenge 2018-2020+ [26]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1926196
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Love On The Line

**Author's Note:**

> This is part 26 of my Transfer from Wattpad series, as well as my year-long Barlliams Songfic challenge.  
> Originally published at: 08/09/2018  
> Originally inspired by the song: Stalker's Day Off

**September 2001**

"We found 33 available matches. Do any of these interest you?"  
Gary rubbed his chin as he checked out the many faces on his screen.  
Smiling people, dressed nicely to impress. A few of them were online, as well.  
It was getting darker as the evening settled. Gary walked from his place by the computer to get a woolen blanket. He wrapped his shoulders in it and slipped into a pair of slippers as well.  
He groaned in tiredness as he made his way into the kitchen, accidentally hitting his toe on the side of a wall.  
He was getting more hungry by the minute and felt his eyes almost dotting.  
He had lost track of time trying to find that special someone lately.  
Work was a welcome distraction from the unending search for someone to share his life with. But it seemed that, no matter where he searched, online or in real life, no one appealed to him. Not even after setting his online dating preferences to both men _and_ women. It felt quite lonely for Gary getting home to an empty flat.

Gary made himself a cup of tea and a cheese sandwich, then he walked back towards his computer again.  
The blue light from the desktop shimmered mellowly into the darkness of his room.  
Gary shuddered and turned on the light by his desk. He felt relieved as the warm, yellow light streamed in. He then opened his browser again, typing in the handle of his dating site. eHarmony.

He was almost laughing to himself as he logged in, scrolling through all the inactive matches and pointless conversations. Everything led him nowhere.

Finally, he was fed up. He logged off and took a long sip of his tea, considering what to do with himself.

He logged himself on MySpace to get a break.  
He saw he'd received a new message.  
It was one of his friends, Betty.  
Gary saw it was about some some trivial matter, but still he was happy to see her name. Gary saw that she was online, too.  
"Hi Betty, how are you?", He wrote happily.

He ate his sandwich as Betty began to type.  
"Hi Gary, I'm great. I'm gaming with my girlfriend. How are you?"

Gary bit his lip in thought. "I'm a bit lonely. It feels tough to be alone after dark now it's autumn."

Betty replied quickly, which comforted Gary.  
"Have you tried a dating site? Match or eHarmony?"

Gary laughed bitterly at himself as he wrote his reply. "I have plenty of matches on eHarmony, but none of them interest me."

Betty replied again, this time a little later. "Tell me Gary, what are you even looking for in terms of a relationship?" She asked.

Gary thought again as he typed. "I'm looking for a serious relationship with someone that should be willing to go further to marriage. And a couple of children, probably."

Betty replied again: "Would you be interested in pursuing a blind date with someone of either sex?"

Gary scoffed. What did he just read?  
"What is a blind date?" He typed, slightly confused.

"That's when you go on a date with someone you have never met before." Betty replied.

Gary felt an uncomfortable pulling in his stomach and leant back.  
"That doesn't sound like something that would help me in any way. I have to decline." Gary gulped.

"How would that be any different from the dating site you're on?? It will be exactly the same, except it will not be from the safety of your bedroom. You really have to put yourself out there, Gary. Or you will be stuck as single forever."

Gary blinked rapidly as he read the words on the screen. It _was_ the truth, it was just... Gary had no real actual dating experience.

"Okay. Fine, then. Are you going to set me up?" Gary hesitated before sending the message.

"I could, if you want to. I know a lot of people. You like both men and women, am I right?" Betty typed.

"Yes. Do you have anyone in particular in mind?"

Gary's nerves were building up as his message remained read for several minutes this time. Then finally, Betty replied.

"I have. I think you fit together quite well, because I've known him for a while. Would you be interested in trying to get to know him in a public place one of the days?"

Gary sighed and was almost about to give up on the conversation.  
"Like where?" He typed, overwhelmed with a sense of dread.

"I was thinking the local musical café. I can't tell you a lot about your date but I can reveal he loves music a lot." Betty typed.

Gary felt a tiny surge of excitement.  
"What does he look like? You know, if I have to keep a lookout." He typed.

"He is about 6"1, black hair, tan skin and green eyes. He is well groomed and quite muscular. He has defined eyebrows and a strong jaw. I think he stands out a mile. You won't be in doubt if you see him." Betty typed.

"By the way, he's said he's open to dating blindly as well. So don't worry. I'll let him know. I just want to know - when should the date for you two be?" Betty typed.

Gary wondered for a bit. "I was thinking 17:00, then we can watch the evening get darker together, I think that's pretty romantic if you ask me." He typed.

"Noted. In two days, at 17:00, in the Misette Musical Café. Brilliant. I hope you enjoy it. Goodnight, Gary. It was a pleasure! Enjoy your date. Let me know how it went." Betty typed.

"I will. Thank you. Goodnight Betty." Gary typed and turned off the computer.  
He then returned to checking out a couple of papers for work. It proved a little difficult as he found himself thinking of his mysterious date he would get to know soon.

**A couple of days later, 16:40 next to the musical café by the harbour:**

Gary helt his umbrella squeamishly as he looked out for his blind date. It was raining lightly, and a gentle breeze was howling as it whirled stronger, stirring the water.

Finally, he noticed a tall man with black hair walk his way. Gary blushed and felt intimated at his good looks as he walked closer.  
A slight look of recognition on his face, he smiled a tiny smile and stopped in front of Gary.  
"Excuse me. Are you by any means Gary, my date...?"

Gary breathed in deeply as he collected himself. "Not only by any means, in fact all means. I am Gary, yes, nice to meet you." Gary let the umbrella down as he attempted to shake his hand.  
"Robbie here." Robbie gently said.  
He then gestured invitingly towards the café. "Should we go inside?" He confidently asked.  
"Why, yes. It's awfully cold out here."

Gary felt better as he entered the café. It was significantly warmer, making him relax a lot more.

Gary and Robbie picked a table without much fuss.  
Gary enjoyed the slow jazz in the background as the two men took their jackets off.

When Robbie took his jacket off, Gary sneakily looked at his body up and down. His lips slightly parted in fascination as he found Robbie looked excellently well-rounded.  
Robbie was in black trousers and a white shirt with a black tie. This almost made Gary see stars as it defined Robbie's body amazingly. What more, Gary noted, was that Robbie almost looked like a man who was used to be admired like this.  
His green eyes met Robbie's green eyes across the table as they sat down.  
Gary folded his hands on the table and awkwardly stared at the café table. He swore at himself for being so lackadaisical with his choice of clothing. He had no idea that Robbie would be this stylish.

Robbie didn't seem to care all that much about Gary's appearance as he grabbed the menu and flicked through it.  
"What do you want?" He asked Gary, looking up from the menu.  
"I don't know, I've never been here before." Gary grinned awkwardly.  
"I come here quite often." Robbie laughed and shrugged, then passed the menu to Gary.  
"Do you?" Gary's voice cracked as he asked, trying to hide his concern.  
"Yeah. My best friend is in the live band here."  
"Oh. I see."  
Gary bit his lip in relief.  
Robbie looked at Gary once again.  
"What do you want to order, Gary? I can recommend you something if you want."  
"S... Sure. Please go ahead." Gary blushed.  
"We have the Missette chocolate cake. It's fantastic, I've tried that a couple of times. Or, alternatively, apple pie. Banana split even, if you dare. But I don't know if you'd like that." Robbie winked.  
"No... No." Gary blushed heavily. "I think a slice of chocolate cake would be amazing."  
"Great choice." Robbie softly said. "I'll go for a créme brúlee with ice cream."

Gary and Robbie chatted softly while their orders were being prepared.  
They told each other basic things like birthday, family, hobbies and other basalities. Soon, Gary stopped feeling self-conscious and felt quite swept off his feet. He even laughed with Robbie and all in all felt quite content.

Whenever their orders arrived, Robbie's behaviour changed, however. His phone buzzed and Gary felt like he was being robbed of Robbie's precious attention.  
Robbie barely touched his delicious order as he seemed engulfed in the small screen. Small taps let Gary know that Robbie was texting. He didn't seem very happy about it, either. The whole situation was very weird.

Gary watched Robbie closely as he started eating his cake.  
It tasted heavenly, but Gary felt like what would make it all complete would be a loving glance from Robbie.

Minutes passed, and Robbie was still texting unhappily, which really bugged Gary now.

"Robbie?" Gary softly tried.  
"Yeah?" Robbie reluctantly looked up from the phone.  
"You know, it really throws me off when you text on our date." Gary said in a sad tone of voice. "I was having a good time but I don't appreciate you being on the phone while we are here to have a date. It doesn't exactly give me a good impression of you, you know. I'm looking for something serious."

"Oh." Robbie turned pale. "I'm so sorry... I just have to do it... Why I do it, is not suitable to be discussed in public. Please believe me when I say that I don't do this to disrespect you."

"Huh." Gary huffed. "It doesn't exactly come across you're interested in keeping it up with me when you text with someone else."

Robbie looked agitated now, his pretty face crinkled in apology. "I'm sincerely sorry, Gary. It's a longer story. Trust me when I say not many people have taken the time to listen to me and that's why I'm still single, trying to find someone... Please..."

Robbie put his phone down into his pocket, but that didn't prevent Gary from getting up from his chair, sighing loudly.  
"I'm sorry. I don't want to see you anymore. I don't feel like you respect me or my values. I also believe we might be totally incompatible on a few crucial issues. Thank you for your time and the cake, but I'm out of here." Gary aggressively put on his jacket and turned his back on Robbie.

Gary heard the scrambling of a chair as Robbie got up from his chair as well.  
Gary hurried outside in the twilight of the darkening evening. The same evening he'd called romantic and spoken highly off just two days earlier.  
"Gary, Gary, please wait for me!" Robbie desperately called out.  
Gary clenched his fists as he tried to get away from Robbie, running like an angry penguin.  
Gary sensed that Robbie was quite it though, and that he was not so there was a chance that Robbie could make it to him no matter how hard he tried to escape.

After a while, it seemed to hold true as Gary had to stop to catch his breath. As he breathed heavily in need of air, Robbie indeed stopped by him and Gary knew that he could give up trying as Robbie would get his message across now whether he wanted it or not.

Robbie let Gary recover before he slowly pulled Gary into an empty side road where they could talk in peace.  
"Gary, please hear me out." Robbie gasped. "You have no idea. Please let me explain why I was texting on our first date. Please. Open your mind to me once."

"Hmph." Gary looked at Robbie, unimpressed. "So? What is so important for me to know that you chase me though the streets as it darkens?"

Robbie looked down in embarrassment, then directly into Gary's eyes.  
"Gary. You have to believe my texting had nothing to do with you. It's... I'm being stalked by text. By my ex-girlfriend."

"Oh, that's unfortunate." Gary was keeping up an act of tough, but it was getting difficult.  
Robbie nodded. "It's bad. Every time my phone buzzes I panic in case it might be her. It's... It's nothing to do with you being uninteresting or whatever... It's just I _have_ to do it, or she threatens me." Robbie's bright green eyes filled with tears.

"I'm... Sorry." Gary gulped as he slowly opened up his heart for Robbie, who was breaking down.  
"Is the stalking in person, or over text?"  
Robbie pulled out his phone and put it in Gary's hand.  
"Only texting. She lives far away from me." Robbie sighed.  
"Then what is there to worry about? You'll be fine!" Gary insisted, confused about Robbie's worrying when the stalker couldn't get to him.  
"I don't know. I'm just so afraid." Robbie confessed.  
Gary reached out a hand to Robbie.  
"Have you tried blocking her?" He suggested mildly.  
"I don't know how to do that. I recently bought a new phone to stop her but she found out anyway."

"Can I try to block her?" Gary asked, rubbing Robbie's shoulder to comfort Robbie.  
"Yeah, go ahead."  
Gary opened Robbie's contacts and blocked Robbie's ex-girlfriend, deleting everything she'd said to him, with them sind some very gruesome things.

"You're a free man." Gary said as he reached Robbie his phone again, looking into his eyes with compassion.  
"Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me." Robbie wiped his eyes.

"How can I make this up to you? I swear, I've been rude to you and I'm so sorry. I haven't been treating you like you deserve."

"Hmmm." Gary smiled and looked at Robbie once more up and down.  
"How does going back to mine sound?"  
"I would like that." Robbie smirked suggestively.  
Both men blushed and ventured into the night, feeling the pulse of the city in their relieved hearts.


End file.
